A Futsal match during the course of the year at Lugogo. The game has hit the acceleration pedal

The 26th December 2016 one day “Futsal Revamped Tournament” that attracted 8 clubs at the Champions Futsal Arena in Busega is an end of year tournament that trickled my mind as to how readily available is another ground for women football to increase visibility and empowerment.

Futsal being a recent football product barely 3 years in the country comes in at a time where the Women Football fraternity is booming with an increase in the number of girls and ladies playing football in the country.

Not surprising that a total of 6 tournaments that is the elite league, Maama Becca Women’s Championship, Independence cup, Sseninde Women Football development competition and Regional League have all been unprecedentedly held in the country in a single year and more like the Uganda Cup have been fronted, the national team also having had a number of engagements in international friendlies and CECAFA.

These notwithstanding though, it’s a fact that these tournaments are still not enough to absorb the numbers of women footballers that have been raised over the years.

The Maama Becca tournament qualifiers for instance attracted over 1,200 U14 girls from the five divisions in Kampala and Entebbe.

Futsal being a football product and a possession attacking game, fortiori to say it would not only be an opportunity for the footballers to showcase their skills but also a potential training ground, an advertisement ground and most importantly an increment ground of women football visibility.

The 5 by 5 sport would be is in all settings friendly to all the parties involved.

Futsal is a variant of association football sport played by 5 by 5 one of whom is a goal keeper with unlimited substitutions and a smaller ball.

The surface, ball and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.

Irene Deborah Nannyonjo is a Sports Journalist, Law student at Makerere and also a Women Football Activist.